Divide and Rule
About Divide and Rule is the fourth journey area in "Normal Mode." The Moors Upon first entering the area: :::Having saved the MAGE city of LOURAN, your host marches south seeking answers. Of the MOORLAND theri, how many are COLLABORATORS? And what fate those southern theri who RESIST the occupation? The puzzle must wait, however: Ahead lie the RUINS of a villa. A welter of DOTS, clearly someone's remains, festoon the rubble. *'01' Said to Be *'02' Where the Old *'03' Gods Subsided BOSS: Samsuiluna *'04 '''A Place Holy *'05 To Theri But *'''06 '''A Wide Birth '''BOSS: Samsuiluna *'07 '''Give It The *'08 Xana Who Call *'''09 '''It the Molders '''BOSS: Samsuiluna STORY *Upon entering Mission 01: :::"We must gather these dots. To leave broken folk like so much litter... What evil times. Speaking of evil, stand fast! An attack force--exos and theri!" *Upon destroying Samsuiluna Lv.1: :::"Well, this one takes the nux: Theri with no regard for the cycle of life. :::The dots of broken folk must be gathered up, or they never mend. :::Yet those theri would have stopped us just now. Have they no decency?" *Upon destroying Samsuiluna Lv.2: :::"I'm not liking the cut of this day, defender. :::We're barely into the moors and already forced into battle with the theri. :::No challenges, no parley--if this is the taste of things to come, we are lost." *Upon destroying Samsuiluna Lv.3: :::"We're near-surrounded! The last battle was a trap; we've fallen right in! :::Move, before the perimeter closes! Carry the wounded! :::We're not leaving anyone behind, not among these heartless hellions!" Sad Cypress Upon first entering the area: :::The MOORLANDS are more lost than you you imagined: Its THERI seem willing to turn their back on Texeli way of life itself. With no chance of a parley, you are in the dark as to what benighted DEAL was struck between EXOS and these theri. The boggy ground slows your progress, and hostile THERI lurk in every shadow. This may well have been a terrible MISTAKE... *'01 '''Planted By *'02 Unknown Hands *'''03 '''In Time Lost '''BOSS: Appan *'04 '''To Memory Of *'05 All Now Alive *'06 '''A Dense Belt '''BOSS: '''Appan *'07 'Of Trees That *'08 'Stand Weeping *'09 '''Burning Sap '''BOSS: '''MT-7 Mousetrap '''STORY *Upon entering Mission 01: :::"Well, it hasn't been a complete loss. We do know something: :::Most of the moorland theri are with the exos. But an alliance can be broken..." *Upon destroying Appan Lv.1: :::"We are strangers in a strange land; they're on home turf. This contest is pointless. :::We should be fighting the exos, not other Texeli! Every battle breeds grudge. :::Even when we win, we lose. But if we lose, we shall never leave these moors." *Upon destroying Appan Lv.2: :::"Where are the theri who helped us in Louran? Gone from these lands? :::I was so sure they would be here, resisting the collaboration. :::I hope to iris that those dots we found weren't... Hurry, the day grows dark." *Upon destroying MT-7 Mousetrap Lv.3: :::"I must be getting tired. My nonexistent ears are ringing still. :::Might have been one of those earth magicks, those things do linger... :::Hark, it's no echo, it's another battle! I'll scout ahead, be ready to follow!" Glim Cove Upon first entering the area: :::Ensnared in a war of ATTRITION with the EXOS and their THERI allies, your band struggles first to parley, then to SURVIVE. Just when all seems lost, HOPE arrives in the most unlikely form: the sound of another BATTLE. On the far side of the great brackens are the THERI RESISTANCE, the same fighters you met in LOURAN. *'01 '''A Dark Tunnel *'02 Of Ancient *'03 '''Roots Made '''BOSS: '''XL-4 Hotspur Lv.1 *'04 'Rock Under *'05 'Spongy Ground *'06 'By The Fossil ''BOSS: Namtar Lv.2 *'07 '''Glow of Stone *'08 'Caps Do Some *'09 '''Ever Live '''BOSS: '''XL-4 Hotspur Lv.2 '''STORY *Upon entering Mission 01: :::"As your poets say, 'Journeys end in lovers' meeting!' :::No time for exhaustion; it's time we pay our debt to these good folk!" *Upon destroying XL-4 Hotspur Lv.1: :::"I've talked to the theri resistance. Alas, they've taken many casualties. :::But what they lack in numbers, they make up for in skill and grit. :::Let's see if we can't thin the ranks of the enemy for them!" *Upon destroying Namtar Lv.2: :::"First, the exos razed a nearby town--merely as a show of force. :::Then they offered the theri a choice: Serve the exos or the moors are next. :::The theri are logical folk--most were bound to accept such a bargain." *Upon destroying XL-4 Hotspur Lv.3: :::"Sometimes, anger knows what logic cannot. We both know the moors are doomed. :::The exos lie. If they wanted pawns, these theri would be out sacking towns. :::What the exos want is a civil war. Then they mop up the survivors..." Piping Fens Upon first entering the area: :::The EXOS have an oddly familiar modus operandi: Hire HALF the population to kill the OTHER half. :::TRUTH is never popular, however, especially after a bout of BACKSTABBING and FRATICIDE. '' :::''After playing the CASSANDRA for a while, your band hits upon a NEW course of action... *'01 '''Step Not On *'02 Tender Ground *'03 '''Tho' You May '''BOSS: '''Ahati-waqrat Lv.1 *'04 'Strain To *'05 'Hear a Snatch *'06 'Of Song Or A '''BOSS: '''YT-11 Layhold Lv.2 *'07 'Knotty Snarl *'08 'Of Prophecy *'09 '''In The Wallow '''BOSS: '''YT-11 Layhold Lv.3 '''STORY *Upon entering Mission 01: :::"Hold up! I've discovered another defender in these moors. :::Let's join up and see if we can't bring these metal thralls to their senses!" *Upon destroying Ahati-waqrat Lv.1: :::"Another defender! That explaines why the moorlands still have free folk. :::If a defender falls at theri hands, there'll be hard feelings against the theri. :::Two defenders entered these moors. Both must emerge unharmed!" *Upon destroying XL-4 Layhold Lv.2: :::"Phew, I'd say the enemy's trying to keep us away from the other band. :::A honor, really. If they're shooting at you, you must be... Gah! :::On a second thought, if they're shooting at you, get out of there!" *Upon destroying XL-4 Layhold Lv.3: :::"Here's one for the bards! We've come in the nick of time! :::We gave the other defender enough cover to regroup, and she took her band east. :::They've met up with reinforcements--the exos are being smashed!" The Brackens Upon first entering the area: :::'' The REINFORCEMENTS turn out to be the combined forces of ALABAST HOLD, ALLODIAEL and OLDTOWN. Suddenly finding themselves BELEAGURED, the exos DROP THE ACT and begin LEVELING the bracken. Their erstwhile ALLIES are cut down trying to PROTECT the ancient ferns. Some THERI fall unresisting, stunned by the treachery.'' *'01 '''Ferns Ancient *'02 And Massive *'03 '''Oddly Knowing '''BOSS: '''VT-6 Krampus *'04 'Knowingly Odd *'05 'Pure in Its *'06 'Monstrosity '''BOSS: '''VT-6 Krampus *'07 'No Mere Trees *'08 'Are They But *'09 '''Theri True '''BOSS: '''VT-6 Krampus '''STORY *Upon entering Mission 01: :::"The bracken! The exos are draining them of life force! :::Those poor, deluded theri... At least we can save their moors!" *Upon destroying VT-6 Krampus Lv.1: :::"The great brackens are some of the oldest life in Texel. :::They are a mystery, a wonder. Their spore dents roofs yet heals hurts... :::The exos must not destroy them--let alone use the power for their fell purpose!" *Upon destroying VT-6 Krampus Lv.2: :::"That was the power of the ferns--a force of nature, indeed. :::This must be pure agony to the moorland theri... :::To batter, and be battered by, magic they have lived with all their long lives." *Upon destroying VT-6 Krampus Lv.3: :::"Given enough folk, a city can be rebuilt in a day. But places such as these... :::Did we save the moors? Such devastation, as far as the eye can see. :::So I must trust the heart: Despite this, something precious was won here today." Category:Normal Mode Category:Journey Category:Story